“For Mr. Obama, painting the conservative lawmaker as a sort of wild-eyed wingman to Mr. Romney carries clear benefits, according to his advisers: it yokes Mr. Romney to the unpopular elements of the Ryan budget — from deep cuts in cherished social programs to a Medicare overhaul that could drive up costs for future retirees and fundamentally change the popular health plan — and it makes it tougher for Mr. Romney to tack to the center once he gets past the primaries…

“‘Obama is trying to set this up to demonize the House Budget chairman,’ said Kevin Madden, an adviser to the Romney campaign. ‘Governor Romney is going to talk about his vision for the country and his ideas for entitlement reform and tackling spending and reducing deficits. He welcomes efforts by people like Paul Ryan to address it, because Obama hasn’t.’”

***

“If Romney’s win in Wisconsin strengthened his claim to the Republican presidential nomination, then his five straight days of campaigning with Ryan amounted to a tryout for the youthful congressman as a potential vice presidential running mate.

“Since Ryan endorsed Romney last Friday, he was at the candidate’s side at every turn — introducing him before formal speeches, vouching for him at town hall meetings and joining him as they eyed cherry pie, picked up fried cheese curds and handed out sub sandwiches. (Romney gave away turkey; Ryan, ham and cheese.)

“Along the way, Romney’s aides were sizing Ryan up. And although chief strategist Stuart Stevens waved off any talk of the two forming a national ticket as irresponsibly premature, he did say they got along well behind the scenes and noted their ‘chemistry’ on the stump.”

***

“Christian Ferry, a senior adviser to the previous Republican nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain, called Mr. Ryan ‘an intriguing possibility’ because he ‘is actually making substantive policy suggestions for urgent problems the country faces rather than worrying about the day-to-day politics.’…

“Compatibility will be a crucial ingredient in Mr. Romney’s selection, according to people close to his campaign. Mr. Romney also trusts the 42-year-old congressman to field policy questions on his behalf—a rarity for the former governor who prides himself on his command of policy details. When Mr. Romney received a question on the convoluted tax code at a Wisconsin town hall, he turned to Mr. Ryan.”

***

“Let’s say the economy continues to recover. Let’s say Romney continues to trail Obama in the polls. Let’s say he realizes that he needs to change the underlying dynamics of the election if he’s to have a chance. In that case, conservatives may just get what they seem to really want: A risky campaign that tries to take on ‘the big issues,’ perhaps by bringing Paul Ryan onto the ticket and arguing that the only way to avert a debt crisis is root-and-branch reform of the federal government.

“Those campaigns don’t have a great track record. But they are, at the least, interesting, and if Romney chooses to run one alongside Ryan, conservatives will finally get their chance to persuade the country to radically reduce the size and responsibilities of the federal government. And, perhaps a bit paradoxically, the only candidate who can really give them that chance is a candidate like Romney in a year like this one: A candidate who could count on their allegiance wouldn’t need to pander to the base by swinging so far to the right, and a candidate who was clearly going to win would play it safer.”

***

“What was unveiled with Obama’s powerful speech is nothing less than a replay of Bill Clinton’s reelection argument in 1996. Back then, a colorless GOP leader named Bob Dole was successfully lashed to revolutionary Newt Gingrich’s budget, which Democrats argued would ravage Medicare, Medicaid, education and the environment. Dole was morphed into Gingrich at least 125,000 times in negative ads (according to Gingrich’s later tally for me), killing Dole with independents and sullying Gingrich’s brand forever…

“Can Romney extricate himself from being tied to Ryan as Dole was to Gingrich? This kind of Houdini-style escape may be beyond even the skills of as brazen a flip-flopper as Romney, though it will be fun to watch him try.

“After all, if the man who was for the health-care mandate before he was against it turns out also to have been for the Ryan budget before he was against that, he’ll alienate his base in an attempt to woo the middle. Meanwhile, Romney’s support for Ryan will run in endless loops in the president’s and his super PAC’s ads, along with a devastating catalog of all of Romney’s other switcheroos over the years.”

***

“President Obama is an intelligent, judicious man who can see all sides of an issue. But every once in a while he tries to get politically cute, and he puts on his Keith Olbermann mask…

“That’s pretty much what happened this week in Obama’s speech before a group of newspaper editors. Obama’s target in this speech was Representative Paul Ryan’s budget…

“Obama treated it as some sort of alien monster from the lunatic fringe. He made a series of specific accusations that have been easily swatted away by the Ryan defenders: That the Ryan plan would allow the insurance companies to cherry-pick the healthiest seniors (in fact, there are specific passages in the plan forbidding that); the Ryan plan would mean lower benefits for seniors (in fact, the plan would guarantee seniors the equivalent of current benefits while giving them other options).

“‘The budget was marvelous, he said,’ Obama said about Romney. ‘When you go through this budget, the vision is an American where everyone is fending for themselves, a few are doing well at the top and most people are struggling to get by.’”

Breaking on Hot Air

Blowback

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I don’t know, but I looked back at the first few pages. I think whoever it was missed a few spots.

(redacted idiocy)

DHChron on April 6, 2012 at 12:07 AM

And to think they put our good buddy canophor into moderation.

I don’t get it.

JPeterman on April 6, 2012 at 12:13 AM

Out of curiosity, I missed when this happened. What exactly does that mean, that he was put in moderation? Is that like probation? Or limbo or purgatory? Does it mean every post he does is automatically held in moderation or something?

If you mean our friend canopfor, back up thread a bit is a copy quote of Allahs comment to him. If you mean (redacted idiocy) thats just one commenters way of complaining to another commenter about language. At least I think thats what that instance was.

I went back and looked at the offending comment, its still there, so there must not be a free speech issue with that language. DHChron will tell you himself if you ask him as to why he is pushing the boundaries. It started a while back, maybe three weeks ago with an altercation he had with Ed. I don’t feel like hunting around for it. But be sure to ask DHChron, he can fill in the timing and info better then me anyhow.

Thanks. Yeah, I was asking about canopfor. It’s a shame, especially given Liberal4life’s spamming, to say nothing of some of the blatantly obscene and /or hateful stuff that a handful of others get away with.

RINO, glad you got me to look back over the thread, I rarely miss something but it seems as though I did. Thanks.

Worth repeating the question. What is Plan B for all of you who can’t stand Romney?

Vince on April 6, 2012 at 12:25 AM

Well as for me, I will pretty much continue to be undesrenthused by him. And I will continue to use my newly copyrighted Rmoney™ when referring to him. It will be available in bumper sticker form soon for all the folks who will pull the lever for his ticket begrudgingly come November. Should he become the nom. Others are free to use the sticker also. You know the folks who will not be pulling the lever at all. I suspect the ones that do pull the lever with enthusiasm either don’t like this form of humor or have no humor. Yep thats my plan B. How’d I do?

Your basic ideas are sound. This could really be A work. However, the Rmoney™ (how do you make that anyway? Do you just cut and paste it from somewhere else, like I just did?) is a little close to the class warfare meme for my tastes.

How about the Romneybot 2012, Battle-Action Conservative™? Much improved over the Romneycare 2006 Liberal Utopia edition™, or the original Romneytron ’94 Senate Racer™.

RINO in Name Only on April 6, 2012 at 11:40 AM
RINO in Name Only on April 6, 2012 at 11:47 AM

I’ll take a B+ if its good enough for 0 then it should be okay by me, right? I’ll stick with Rmoney™ I don’t do well in partnerships otherwise I might take you up on it. But you should move forward on those asap. Just don’t use SparkPlugs without asking first. I will share this bit of tech with you freely as I didn’t invent it I just borrowed it. If I were a Dem it would read. As I have stolen it. Here.

I’ll take a B+ if its good enough for 0 then it should be okay by me, right?

Touché.

Just don’t use SparkPlugs without asking first.

What is SparkPlugs’ idea? Or do you mean, don’t use “spark plugs” without permission from SparkPlugs? If it’s the latter, don’t worry, the Romney series doesn’t use them. It uses new green technology, patented by Solyndra. What could go wrong?

I will share this bit of tech with you freely as I didn’t invent it I just borrowed it. If I were a Dem it would read. As I have stolen it. Here.

Bmore on April 6, 2012 at 12:07 PM

That’s very kind of you. And now I must be off – your encouragement has inspired me to complete my work.

I’m pretty sure we have gone round about something. But, I guess I wasn’t aware I was dealing with HotGas Royalty.

What’s your secret, if you can divulge…?

ccrosby on April 6, 2012 at 1:38 AM

Well, you might never see this, but I had gone to read off line and missed your comment. I assume that you addressed me, and not SP or Bmore.

If you are discerning, I despise royalty in this age, all of it, from the queen of England to Obama. I mock and ridicule it, and the people who sustain them. Therefore, I would never be royal. If others ‘make’ me ‘regal’, you deal with them. I’m just an uncommon rube.

p.s. you might have a few HotGas issues, but I don’t think I’m the root cause of them. Find what it really is. I only wish you to be happy here, however you are, and whatever you do.